Kids Workshop at Home Depot

Did you know that Home Depot sponsors a kids workshop the first Saturday of every month? I didn't know it either! =) I learned this information from a helpful sales member while shopping there. She said it was for kids ages 2-12 starting at 9am and lasting until supplies last...and it was FREE! (I don't know if this is something offered at every Home Depot location or if the age range is the same at every location, but it's definitely worth asking your local store if they do the workshops.)

The kids, since it was their first time attending, got an orange apron with their names on it. They looked so cute it them! The project this month was making planter boxes. They had tables set up with wood glue and little hammers. They each got a little packet that contained the materials and instructions and we started building the planter right away. The boys LOVED using real tools and even got to paint their newly built planter boxes. After completing the project, they each received a certificate and a pin to put on their aprons. It was such a fun little workshop and we will definitely be going back again!I wish I had brought my camera, but thankfully Chris had his phone with him, so we got a few pictures.

After we left the workshop, we let the boys purchase a plant to put in their planter boxes and they both wanted strawberry plants. We bought them, but realized after we got home that strawberries would probably thrive a little better with more space to grow.

So, a few days later, I took them to a local garden center and let them pick out some flowers. They chose these orange marigolds. Once it gets warmer, they will brighten up our porch!

*This is just my personal opinion and experience with the Home Depot Workshop...I was not asked to review or write about it by anyone. I just wanted to share our experience and this information!*

Trying a Square Foot Garden...

This summer, I am trying something I have never done before...gardening.

When I was a kid, my parents kept a huge garden for a couple years. At the time, I didn't know how much work went into it and how much to appreciate all the fresh vegetables that grew. Looking back, I wish I would have taken more notes on how to plant and grow a nice garden! My parents did a phenomenal job!

At our new house, we don't have the space to plant a large in-ground garden. So, I am trying something called Square Foot Gardening. If you haven't heard of it, you can find more info from this website or this book by Mel Bartholomew.

So, the goal is to grow vegetables in self-built planter boxes (we chose to go with the standard 4x4) that don't take up a lot of space. We are doing two boxes this year (hoping to do more next year if this year goes well) as well as some separate tomato plants and a little herb garden.

To say I am super excited is an understatement! With the price of produce so high in the stores (not to mention the questions about how the produce is grown and treated now-a-days) I am very excited to grow our own produce! I bought heirloom seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. It was hard narrowing down what we wanted to try this year...it can get really easy to get carried away with all the yummy looking veggies! So, I tried to stick with the basics...since this will be a learning experience for me.

Chris has been a big help. He helped me plan the planter boxes and built them for me.

It didn't cost much to do this. Just the cost of lumber and the weed cloth you tack on to the bottom of the wooden frames.

Thankfully, Chris had all the tools needed for this little project on hand.

Here is the completed box! See how easy that is!

Rinse, repeat and you have two!

I was a little late in getting my seed order in, so my starter plants

(tomatoes and peppers) may go out a little later then they should. However, I am excited about their progress as the little seedlings sprout through the soil!

So, the next order of business is getting the soil mixture in the boxes (a mixture of different composts, peat moss and vermiculite.) Once the weather clears up, I plan to get that mixture in the boxes and start planning out my seed map and planting seeds!

Fresh veggies, here we come!

Project Saturday

I enjoy scrapbooking. I haven't done it as much as I'd like simply because I haven't really had the space or the set-up. Here's the thing with scrapbooking. Usually you need lots of room to spread your stuff out. So, if you're like me the last few years, this means...

pulling all the scrapbooking stuff out...

spreading it out...

scrapbooking for a little while...

gathering it all back together...

and then putting it all away....

Rinse and Repeat.

The set-up and take-down was such a long extensive process that I tended not to scrapbook because of it.

When we lived in Germany, I did attempt to set up my own space (pictured below)...but it was just to small and I found it hard to spread out.


Now, however, I have found my own little nook to set up a scrapbooking corner. And, because my nook is in the basement, I can even leave ongoing projects out instead of having to continually pull everything out and put it all back again. This is so exciting to me!!!

So, last Saturday I started setting up my nook. I still need to put some pictures on the wall, but at least I have the table, drawers and shelves setup. The only new purchase I made for this space was a large (6 foot) foldable table (about $35) to create lots of workspace.

Before: Here is all my scrapbooking things...organization is needed!

Before: Here is the nook I want to set up my scrapbooking things in.

During: Here are the boys playing the keyboard I found while working...motivational music never hurts! =)

After: Organization completed!

After: My new work space!

Now I just need to find the time to start a new scrapbooking project! =)

It feels like home.

This may be the first time in our married lives that we have all our stuff under one roof. Well...actually, we are still waiting on the delivery of a few items from when we were stationed in Georgia...but it's only a few items...ya know like the piano, weight bench , two massive wall lockers, the lawn mower...just a few small things like that.

When we moved our items in from New Jersey, unpacking was a breeze. Knowing that we would only live in Jersey for a few months, we had only taken the essential items. When we moved our items in from the storage unit...well, let's just say, there are still boxes and bins I haven't even opened yet. I have found things I didn't even know we had! So, the unpacking process has been slow and I have tried to take the time to sort out the items we need, the items we should donate, and the items that are just wore out.

When I look at the calendar, I can't believe we've been in our new house for almost two months now. In so many ways, I still feel like we've just moved in! And yet, I feel like we are home. We may not be completely unpacked, we still have a list of furniture we need, and I am itching to paint the walls...but this house definitely feels like home. I am so thankful that God brought us here!

Chocolate Cupcakes!

When we lived in New Jersey, our kitchen was a one-person-at-a-time-kitchen.

The boys would ask to help me bake, but there just wasn't enough room. I kept promising them that when we moved to our new house, there would be plenty of room for them to help me bake. Now that most of the boxes are unpacked and we are beginning to settle into our new house, I thought it was time to make good on my promise to them. So, Friday we decided to make chocolate cupcakes.

Though I knew it might be messy, I even let them try to crack the eggs...

...and messy it was! Both the eggs exploded and went everywhere (this is a very burry picture, but if you look closely, you can see the egg bouncing back out of the bowl!)

Will even had egg on his head!! (We had to take a break to clean up after that.)

Back from cleaning up all the egg and ready to finish up the cupcakes...

The boys were anxious for the cupcakes to bake...

After lunch, the cupcakes were cool enough for the icing.

Then, it was time to indulge!

Yummy!!